SXSW 2014: Q&A with Road to Austin director Gary Fortin

Stephen Bruton (left) and Bonnie Raitt during the Road to Austin concert

Photo courtesy Road to Austin

In May 2007, a special concert was held at Auditorium Shores. Called Road to Austin, it was originally conceived as a tribute to Kris Kristofferson, but it turned into a night to honor the late Stephen Bruton, the “Me and Bobby McGee” songwriter’s longtime guitarist who died from throat cancer in 2009. The show included a 15-piece house band made up of all “the local royalty,” says Gary Fortin, Bruton’s good friend who turned the footage of the concert into a documentary, also called Road to Austin. Almost four hours long, the film contains 38 songs and appearances by Bonnie Raitt, Delbert McClinton, Kristofferson and, of course, Bruton, among many others. Now, almost seven years since the concert, the film is being released on Blu-Ray in the spring. But first it will have its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival. According to Fortin, who spent nine months editing the footage, this is not just about the concert documentary. The money raised from the film’s Blu-Ray sales will go toward a new initiative called the Artist Wellness Program. Here, Fortin discusses the concert, memories of his friend and what this wellness program will do for musicians in the future.

How did you know Stephen Bruton?
When I first moved to Austin back in 1997, I was introduced to Stephen’s wife, Mary, at a gallery. She invited me to go see her husband play at the Saxon Pub. I knew who he was and had actually met him before, but I didn’t realize it until I pulled up to the Saxon Pub, looked up and saw Stephen’s name on the sign. We were close, fast and furious, ever since.

How did you and Stephen get involved in this concert?
I was asked to put together a show in 2006 for the World Congress on Information Technology in Austin. It was a showcase of Austin music and extremely successful. After that show, a local company contacted me looking to do something big. I went to Stephen, who said, “I’ve always wanted to do something huge to honor Kris Kristofferson.” Stephen was his guitar player since he was 19 years old, so they were blood brothers. He came on as the musical director. That snowballed into inviting everybody. What we didn’t realize was that the tables would turn very quickly, and this would end up being all of Stephen’s friends coming in to celebrate Stephen’s life. That was not the plan, but that’s what it turned into.

How sick was he at this point?
The Road to Austin show was May 19, 2007, and Stephen was diagnosed with throat cancer in December 2006. And it had already gone down to his lymph nodes. At that point, five months out from the show, it was like being hit on the forehead with a sledgehammer. He’s not just your best friend, but he’s also your business partner and a huge, important part of this production. The Road to Austin wasn’t your typical concert being put on in a park. We designed the show with a 15-piece band, including string sections and horn sections. We rehearsed that band for seven days, 10 hours a day. And they had to learn about 40 songs in a week, each one a completely different genre of music. It was a very ambitious show. So one week before rehearsal started is when Stephen’s treatment had ended.

But he was well enough to still be a part of the show?
I told him that he didn’t have to do the whole show. But he said, “Gary, it’s what got me through my treatment.” When Stephen walked into rehearsals, everyone was on eggshells. It felt funeral-like, but nobody had died. When Kristofferson walked into the room and locked eyes on Stephen, you could see the color come back to his skin. You could see the energy. It was almost like watching divine intervention. And it didn’t stop at Kris, it kept building when Bonnie came in, and others. The energy changed.

The concert took place in 2007. Why did it take so long to make the film?
First and foremost, I couldn’t look at it without crying my eyes out. Nobody could. That stuff sat on a shelf in my house.

Once you got around to looking at the footage, what were some of your favorite moments or some of the surprise memories that came up for you?
I knew that night it was going to be declared Stephen Bruton night by Mayor Will Wynn. Stephen didn’t know. He’s standing on stage that night, and he notices somebody running behind him. First, you can see the look on his face that something’s wrong. Then when it was revealed to him that it was something for him—and, again, Stephen didn’t like being called out like that—it was great. Stephen was very overwhelmed emotionally of getting a night declared in his honor. Then he looks to his left and out walks Kris. It was almost too much for him to take. That moment when Kris walks out and the two of them hug on the stage is one of the more genuine, human things that I’ve ever witnessed in my life, and it just so happened in front of 15,000 people.

Was this the last concert Stephen played?
It was Stephen’s last major performance ever in front of an audience. He played a few shows at Saxon Pub and finished Crazy Heart, the movie, for which he won a Grammy posthumously [in the category of Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media]. And he actually finished an album with Kristofferson.

Tell me about the Artists Wellness Program.
Early on after his diagnosis, Stephen made the comment, “Why do we have to wait until someone’s sick to do something?” And the rest of that thought is, Can you imagine if this has happened to a local musician who didn’t have insurance? It’s amazingly gross what happens when someone gets diagnosed with cancer—not just the getting sick but the financial burden and just trying to get a straight answer out of anybody.

I met a gentleman here in town named Dr. Mark Chandler, who introduced me to biomarker testing. [Read more about Dr. Chandler and his company, Biophysical, here.] Biomarker testing is basically a very advanced blood test. You get back literally a book on the current state of your health. So, with the money raised through the Blu-Ray sales of Road to Austin, 200 artists will go through a pilot program, where they will get the blood test, nutrient supplements that they need and a Fitbit to monitor the daily behavior of their activity. After 90 days, there will be a second biomarker test. We find out what’s going on in the body. It’s also slight behavior modification. We’re not asking musicians to start running marathons. It’s about what you don’t know, and now you’ll know.

When is the program starting?
All of this is happening right after Southby. We’ve got to get the Blu-Ray out and sold. It’ll be sold online and locally. We will have this thing up and running and getting people going through the program in the early summer. Obviously, the more product we sale, the more revenue comes in and the more people can go through it. We’re very confident that this will move the needle in a big way toward wellness. Getting artists to think about their wellness is huge.

For more information about Road to Austin, go here. For information about the film's screening at SXSW and the show's after-party Thursday night, click on this link.